The present invention is generally directed to generation of diffuse infrared light. More particularly, the invention is directed to an apparatus for illuminating an object with diffuse infrared light, producing a video image of buried structure beneath the surface of the object based on reflected infrared light, and then projecting an image of the buried structure onto the surface of the object.
Some medical procedures and treatments require a medical practitioner to locate a blood vessel in a patient's arm or other appendage. This can be a difficult task, especially when the blood vessel is small and/or the vessel is under a significant deposit of subcutaneous fat or other tissue. The performance of previous imaging systems designed to aid in finding such blood vessels has been lacking. Therefore, an apparatus for enhancing the visual contrast between subcutaneous blood vessels and surrounding tissue is needed.